Chapter 4
Sasha awoke muzzily, her head throbbing in pain as she began to open her eyes, keenly aware that she was spread eagle and naked against the stone floor; she remembered Xander taking off after the last of a group of Burning Skeleton Archers, but as soon as he was out of sight she could only remember paralyzing fear and then nothing.
"Are you comfortable, my dear?" The voice that spoke oozed evil, had an inflection the same as Mr. Giles' and more than a little insincere intention, "I do apologize, but I am afraid that you and friend will not make it any further in your quest to return home." Out of the shadows stepped a man that could only be called a skeleton – he was skinny, pale, his limbs and chest showing little muscle definition and he wore an open-in- the-front robe that allowed the sign of a pentagram to show through.
"Any why is that?"
He stepped up to her and raked her naked form with his gaze, something that made her skin crawl even more so than the lewd smile he gave her, "Well, you see, my superior wants to make sure that you never get home, in which it will allow the side of darkness to get a free agent that is very powerful."
"What is your name, good sir?"
"Ethan Rayne." He let out a chuckle and stooped down, running his hand from her naval to her neckline and back down, caressing both breasts as he did, "I must say, you are quite fetching, young woman. I shall have fun making you scream."
She bared her teeth and then spit in his eyes, "I will never give you the satisfaction." It was then that she stopped and began to smile, "And I fear that you will never get that chance either, Mr. Rayne."
"And why is that?"
She smiled, "Because of the fact that my battle companion will be here to save me."
"The boy?" Rayne let his head fall back and laughed heartily, "Child, I know whom you call your battle companion and believe me when I tell you that he is harmless."
It was at that point that a scream was heard echoing off of the stones that lead up to the room she was in, a scream that was filled with pain and agony, but it was also not human, "Would you care to place a wager on that?"
{Xander's position}
The demon died with a scream of pure agony, but seeing as he had just split it down the middle from what amounted from collarbone to crotch, it wasn't exactly unexpected. He picked up the scroll it dropped and stashed it inside of his jacket before setting off again, not saying a word, weapons out and eyes constantly searching – the three demons types that he had run into up to that point, Undead, Demon and Monster, had not shown much in the way of true intelligence, but the one that he had juts dispatched had shown tactical thinking, reasoning and speaking capabilities, which did not bode well for him at all.
"Really, now, young man," the dark voice that had taunted him on the proceeding level with Sasha's disappearance came back in full force, "was it necessary for you to torture that poor demon?"
"If you think that was torture," Robert DiNiro's voice said from the balaclava, "then you need to think about what I'm going to do to you if I find so much as a HAIR out of place on Sasha's body. And trust me, when I get to you, I won't be in a good mood."
The voice laughed harshly, "And what makes you think that I am going to be here when you find us?"
"Because if you could leave, then you would have been gone by now, not to mention you would be deeper into the catacombs than you are right now." He continued walking forwards, spinning and decapitating another demon before taking a page out of Wes Craven's and Drusilla's book, "One, two, Kitten's coming for you. Three, four, better lock your doors."
"If you think that is going to scare me, boy, then you have been watching far too many movies."
"What makes you think you'll ever see me, Mr. Voice? Five, six, you cross the river Styx. Seven, eight, make you gonna stay up late." (AN: I can't remember the 5-6, or the 7-8 rhymes, but it I think it works with this) With that done, he activates his invisibility spell that he had picked up from the dark book and picked up the pace as well.
{Sasha's location}
"FIND HIM!" The shout was closer now even as the few remaining demons on the level, but there was a note of fear in it now and Sasha could only smile, even though her backside was getting cold due to the stone and her body was showing it too.
"Is there something wrong, Ethan?" She asked the question sweetly, knowing that she was stirring the pot, but also knowing that Ethan would not touch a hair on her body due to his new fear of Xander.
"No, my dear, everything is fine." He was sweating and his eyes were darting form one side of the room to the other, as if he had gotten ahold of too much sugar.
"No, it is not because you are scared." She chuckled, "And I would also be very scared if I were in your position, Ethan Rayne."
He stiffened and stalked over to her, "Is that so?" He drew back a foot and launched a kick into her unprotected ribs, catching her full-on and making her scream out in pain, "Now, who is it that should be scared?"
"You." The voice was not that of her friend, yet it was – it was that balaclava that he had that made him sound like 'Robert DiNiro', whoever that was, and it was also very close.
Even through the pain she could see Ethan whip his head back and forth, "Where are you?"
"Closer than you might think, Ethan." The voice held a chilled tone to it as it sounded even closer, "You know, for all of the hell you caused us that night, I am more than tempted to drag your ass out and let Ripper has his way with you ... but where would the fun in that be?" There was a sound that made her skin crawl, the sound was that of a steely rasp that was made from a sword or a bladed weapon being pulled from a sheath, and a dark chuckle, "Tell me, Rayne, do you like to be scared? Nine, ten, gonna do it again. One, two Kitten's coming for you. Three, four, better lock your door. Five, six, you cross the river Styx. Seven, eight, gonna make you stay up late. Nine, ten ... I'm gonna cut your skin."
The nature of the singing had been a childish tone, but as it seemed to come from everywhere at once and with the last words became dark and malevolent, Sasha felt herself shiver in fear, an action that aggravated her ribs, as Ethan Rayne slowly went mad with fear.
"YOU DON'T SCARE ME, BOY!"
"Then give your soul to the Lord, son, 'cause you ass now belongs to me." Gone was the voice of Robert DiNiro, rather now it was from Xander, from one place, and he was visible ... and didn't look happy. "You kicked a shackled ... naked ... woman, Rayne. I'll have to make it hurt before you die." His bladed weapons snapped back and locked into place as he began to walk forwards, "Are you okay, Sash?"
"I could do with a comforter – it is rather chilly in here."
He shrugged out of his jacket and draped it over her nakedness as he passed, stalking Rayne, who was backing up from the sounds of things, "I know it's not much, but here you go." He looked her in the eyes only and smiled, "Oh, and your legs look just fine."
She blushed.
{Xander's POV}
Ethan Rayne had caused so much trouble in his life up to that point that he no longer cared if the son of a bitch died quickly or slowly – as long as he died. He was skinnier and paler than last time, looking less like a Brit than ever, especially with the pentagram tattoo on his chest, but aside from that, he had not changed. "Tell me, Ethan, what have you been doing lately?"
Ethan snarled an oath and flung a poorly aimed fireball in his general direction, one that he dodged easily even as heard the manacles on Sasha's wrists and ankles unlock, but then drew himself up again, "Planning my domination of this realm, child. It's a step up from what I normally do, but even chaos can become boring after a while."
He nimbly danced around a hail of hailstones that was sent in his direction, but then snapped back, "Oh, did Janus decide to abandon you after your botched attempt at Chaos? Or can you think of nothing more original than this?"
"You want original, boy?" Ethan brought both of his hands up and summoned forth a virtual flurry of shards of ice, each of them in the shape of Twinkies, and sent them in his direction, "How was that for original."
"You defiled the shape of the Twinkie." It was meant to be funny, in a way, but seeing as the attack got a little too close for comfort, he activated his invisibility spell again and ducked back into the darkness.
Ethan looked around wildly, looking very insecure in his current situation, but never laid an eye on him once, "So, you like invisibility magic? What if I took that away from you?"
Ethan never got the chance to do anything about it as Xander found himself within striking distance and introduced Ethan's jaw to a right hook that held with it a jaw-shattering force, which is exactly what happened to the former Chaos Mage, who was then sprawled to the ground several feet away. "Can you cast a spell without being able to move your jaw?"
"Was that truly necessary, Xander?" Sasha had pulled on his duster and held the remains of her armor, which had been reduced to silken rags, but from a glance he could see she had already wrapped a few pieces around herself.
"Maybe not, but I feel better. You okay?"
"My ribs will heal." She walked forwards, looking around as she did, "Have you seen your Kevlar vest?"
"Not yet." He walked over to Ethan's groaning form and kicked him in the ribs as way of retribution, "Now, Ethan, let's a have a little chat, shall we?"
Sasha looked over at him, "You DO know you broke his jaw, right?"
"Yes, but I can heal it if I have to ... and only that." He worked his mojo as Sasha began to look around, finding this and that from her arsenal and armor, as Ethan began to heal and come around, "'Ello, ol' chap. I fink you haf a bit offa problom, here, mate."
"Bloody American Teenagers." Ethan groaned in disgust even as he tried to sit back up, an attempt that was thwarted by Xander reaching down and getting a handful of his hair before slamming his head back into the stone floor.
"I'd be really careful about what you say, Ethan – this is going to hurt either way, but how much it hurts depends on your answers."
"I'll tell you nothing."
Xander could only grin.
{Two Hours Later}
Sasha looked down at her new clothing and marveled at the feel of the denim against her legs, the cotton against her skin and the cushy feeling of the socks on her feet; while the socks and t-shirt were not new to her, she had not had the chance to wear blue jeans in her year in Xander's dimension, as her own armor and some slacks were quite appropriate for most functions, but this was something else. "Where did you get these?"
Xander shrugged, "I told you you'd be surprised what I had stashed away in that minor dimensional pocket of mine, Sasha. I figured that we might run into something that required us to change clothes, so I guessed your size." He shrugged on his jacket again and moved it into place, "You ready?"
She nodded, shifting the Kevlar armor into a more comfortable position before looking at the remains of the remains of Ethan Rayne, "I hope he gets what he deserves."
"We all will." He reached into his pocket and removed something, "Now, there's a room back this way that's very defensible and we can rest there for the night before we go any further."
She nodded and hefted her staff, waling with him as he looked around; she found herself studying his profile as they walked and could not figure out what it was about him that she found ... intriguing. He was of slightly above average height for his world, had a compact, but still muscular build, with dark eyes and hair that seemed to see everything and not be tamed, respectively, but there was something else that was there that she could not put her finger on, and that perplexed her. She was generally good at reading people like unrolled scrolls, but with the way that Xander had 'questioned' Ethan Rayne, her own opinions and assumptions of him had proven incorrect on several accounts and skewed on several more, all of which meant that he required further study.
They reached the room that he had told her about and she was delighted by the first and second things she saw – a bed and a fireplace. She knew they would sleep in shifts, and not rest, as they both needed to truly sleep, but was curious how he would get her to take the first sleeping shift, "So, who sleeps first?"
"We'll flip a coin, but before that, let's eat." He reached into the deep pockets of the duster, apparently they also were magically expanded storage areas, and he then pulled out several green plastic bags, both of them rather large, and several bottled waters. He went to the fireplace, which was actually nothing more than a niche in the wall, and started a small cooking fire with the wood that was stacked there and smiled as the smoke was pulled into stone air ducts, "Madame, voila, dinner is served." He opened one of the bags and studied the writing on it, "For dinner tonight we have a selection of chicken tetrazini, vegetables, bread and desert or we have spaghetti with tomato sauce and meat, vegetables, bread and a desert."
She pursed her lips and tapped her forefinger to her lips, as if thinking, "I believe that I shall have the spaghetti, good sir."
"Very well." He slit the bag open and poured one of the bottles of water into it before setting it aside, doing the same with the other, "They'll take a few minutes to rehydrate, and then we'll have to warm them, but either way it's going to taste like crap." (AN: Anyone who has eaten old- school MREs knows that many of the selections were either bland or tasted like cardboard – new ones, however, are supposed to be rather good.)
She nodded and removed her armor, as he took off his duster, and sat next to him with a slight sigh, "This has been an interesting day, has it not?"
"How so?"
"I get knocked unconscious, stripped and chained while so, leered at and kicked by an old enemy of yours and watch you torture information out of him over two hours before killing him with one of his own minions. Not only that, I found out you have a sadistic streak and also like to play with your enemies heads, too." She leaned back and groaned as her back muscles tightened, "Oh, and let's not forget that you also got to see me naked as well."
"The highlight of my day, I assure you." He shifted behind her and began to massage out several large knots in her back, which got a slight moan of approval from her without too much prompting, "Seriously, Sasha, how are you?"
"I'll feel better after a few hours of sleep. We've been down here for almost two days now and we need it."
"Yes, and the good news is that the bottom of this place is only two more levels below us." She groaned again as he began to work more knots out of her shoulders and middle back before going to her lower back, "So, what are you going to do when you get back home, Sash?"
"I don't know." She shook herself off as he finished her off and went to stir the bags of food, "What are those?"
"MREs, Meals Ready To Eat – dehydrated and preserved for soldiers in the field. No promises on the taste, but they keep you fueled for combat." He poured the contents of one of the bags into a metal pan and set it near the edge of the fire, doing the same with the other, "So, Sash, any Mr. Sasha back at home? How about little Sasha's?"
She blushed lightly, "No, I have not found time to settle down and have a family – I have my mother and father to look after, as well as my younger siblings. My older sister runs a tavern in Lut Ghulane, but also lost her husband recently as the Dark Wanderer came through." She had told him of Diablo, The Lord Of Terror, during the last time they had stopped, but not of her own family, "Yourself?"
"Mom and dad, but I could care less about either of them, and no Mrs. Harris on the horizon, but again, that's not too weird." He stirred some of the red and pale stringy contents with a fork and looked into the fire, "I guess I'm not sure what I'm going to do – graduate, get a job, hopefully go to college, but I just ... I don't know."
"And what of Jenny? Surely she holds some place in your heart."
He looked at her oddly, "Jenny and I are friends – she doesn't judge me for what I do and I, well, I like that. She's smart, funny, and I won't kid myself, beautiful, but trust me, she can do better than me." He stirred the other plate and then rummaged in the two bags and set smaller tins near the edge of the fire, "So, what about your? Anyone special in your neck of the woods?"
She blushed a little more, "No, as I said, I have been busy. I would like the opportunity, though – there are certain things about having someone to lean on in life, or against in the middle of the night, that I find ... oddly reassuring."
"If nothing else, they are effective warming devices." He pulled the two tins away and popped them open, stirring the contents inside, "Milady, for your dining pleasure tonight, we have spaghetti with meat and tomato sauce, accompanied by what appears to be boiled carrots, some shelf-stable bread and a treat for later." He passed her the 'food' and took his own things, before looking over at her, "If that which does not kill us makes us stronger, than this should give us a pretty good boost."
She chuckled and dug into the meal, which, while not exactly flavorful, was filling. The vegetables, which did turn out to be carrots, turned out to be sweetened a little and that helped to balance out the bland flavor of the entrée and the bread, which she suspected was 90% old packing material. She could see Xander eating his food without much gusto, but his face gave nothing away as he ate – his eyes, though, gave away plenty in the form of a slightly tired look, one that could be ascribed to old war veterans, like those who had actually survived the downfall of Tristram. She knew he had emotional baggage, but she wanted to drop her food and hug him to pieces, or until that look went away, at the mere sight of it.
They finished their food about the same time and he pulled out two other packages out of the green bags, which he presented to her, "Crackers and peanut butter, but also, as you have been such a good sorceress today ..." he reached into his duster and removed a clear-packaged item. "Twinkies."
She smiled and dove for them.
{Thirty minutes later}
Sasha lay next to him near the fire, her head on his shoulder, nearly asleep, when her eyes snapped back open and she blushed lightly. He wasn't sure what the problem was, but she said she was sorry and moved to the bed, "Do you mind taking first shift?"
"Nah, get some rack time." He threw his duster over her and she was asleep instantly, which allowed him to sit back down near the fire and think about what had been said earlier. While he wasn't sure what he wanted, he knew that it was probably going to include Sunnydale – he would not leave the fight voluntarily and would always protect those who could not protect themselves.
Sasha's comments about Jenny came to the forefront for some odd reason and he thought about the dark-haired gypsy woman who had become his best friend / confidant over the past few months. When Angelus had paralyzed her and Buffy had done nothing about it, he had gone after the vampire, succeeding in taking out not only a good chunk of his minions, but also dusting his Childe and Grandchilde, Dru and Spike. Not long after that, the Master Vampire, The Scourge of Europe, had left town and had yet to be heard from again, but regardless, Jenny was still paralyzed and needed help, so he provided it. At first she had been bitter about the entire thing, but after a little time she began to lose some of that bitterness towards life itself (but not Buffy) and accepted his help for what it was meant to be. He'd set her up in a nice ground-level apartment and informed her family of what had happened, but also stuck around to help her as she had been subject to night terrors and frequently didn't sleep very well.
He shook his head and added another piece of wood to the small fire, peering deep into the flame as he did, and allowed his mind to wander again – Ethan Rayne had told them of some of the demons below and Xander knew that killing them was going to be tougher than ever because they could dispel magic and had tougher hides than anything else they had come across before now. While he wasn't worried so much about Sasha, as she had a rather large repertoire of spells at her disposal, he was worried about his own hide for once and as such, reached into the back of Sasha's borrowed armor for several other things that he had brought along for a scenario like this, things that he had picked up along the way in and around the Hellmouth. Each item would vastly improve his physical self, raise his resistances to elemental/physical/magical harm, and also improve his knowledge of spells, but as all things concerning the Hellmouth, nothing came for free – for as long as he wore them when they were activated, that time was also needed to go through a kind of withdrawal, where his own body would turn against him and make him sick, and it would also take a toll on his mind by weakening the barrier that held the Hyena in check even more than it already was. It was a risk, however, that he had to take.
There were five pieces in all, each of them either a band of metal or a series of metal pieces sewn into a leather backing, and as he had used on before, they weren't the most comfortable thing to wear on the planet, but it could also have been worse. He removed his boots and fit the two anklets into place, seeing their dull bronze sheen shining in the firelight, and then replaced his boots and stood so he could put on the leather and metal belt and then strapped the metal bands around his wrists, under where his weapon mounts were. It was only a little more weight to wear, but he could feel the energy within them wanting to be let out and he had to stop himself from tapping those reserves.
"No, only as a last resort."
{Four Hours Later}
She opened her eyes to see Alexander's face in front of hers, smiling but tired, and for a split second she hated him – nobody deserved to look that chipper after being through what they had been through, "I hate you."
He looked at her slightly affronted, "Then no Twinkie for you." He started to scoot away, but her hand lashed out and caught his wrist, which she now noticed was clad in a bronze band.
"Give. Twinkies. NOW!" She held out her hand and he dutifully passed over two of the golden snack cakes, which she devoured in record time, "Mmmmm."
"Pig." She glared at him and shot him the finger, which made him chuckle, "Is that an offer, Sasha?" She thought about what the gesture meant and blushed as she remembered, "Can I have the bed now? I'm kind of tired."
She got out of bed and stretched, groaning as she did, but growled as he took her spot, sighed and fell asleep. She needed a few more hours of down time, but with the time constrains they had, four hours a shift were all they were going to get.
Pulling on the borrowed boots and sitting in front of her borrowed armor, Sasha began to reflect again over herself and her own life; yes, her family was important to her, but actually it wasn't that she didn't have time to find a husband, bur rather she wasn't exactly a people person, even less as her Class generally was. Sure, there were several males who had caught her eyes, and there was that one dubious Amazon a while back, but deciding not to irritate her family more than she already did, Sasha would stick to what she knew – with her luck she would either find and marry either a war- monger of a Barbarian or a stick-in-the-mud Paladin, and while she didn't even want to think about the Necromancers, the Druids liked to have their summoned beasts, spirits and plants in the house as well, and she didn't like Ravens all that much.
She looked over at Xander and a smile found her lips – if there were any just in the world, his or hers, she would find someone like him, only a few years older and with less emotional baggage. After all, she wasn't sure how well it would be received if she showed up with Xander slung over her shoulder and her saying, 'He followed me home, mother. Can I keep him?'
This brought a snicker from her as the mental picture formed in her mind – her, standing in front of her parents, with Xander slung over her shoulder, out cold, and her with an innocent expression on her face while the lump on his head matched the nodules on her staff. A nice image, yes, but one that could never be real, and that made her smile disappear.
It was a long four hours later that he woke up with a slight start as she tapped her fingers on his chin, his eyes snapping open and fist clenching, but then his eyes showed recognition of who she was and he lay back with a groan, "Evil woman."
She looked at him somewhat primly, "No Twinkie for you, then."
"EVIL I SAY!"
Alright, the introspective part is over, as is this chapter. Next chapter, more Slaying and we'll get an answer to just why who Ethan's boss is, and, more importantly we'll be another chapter closer to the end. R&R, AR.
Sasha awoke muzzily, her head throbbing in pain as she began to open her eyes, keenly aware that she was spread eagle and naked against the stone floor; she remembered Xander taking off after the last of a group of Burning Skeleton Archers, but as soon as he was out of sight she could only remember paralyzing fear and then nothing.
"Are you comfortable, my dear?" The voice that spoke oozed evil, had an inflection the same as Mr. Giles' and more than a little insincere intention, "I do apologize, but I am afraid that you and friend will not make it any further in your quest to return home." Out of the shadows stepped a man that could only be called a skeleton – he was skinny, pale, his limbs and chest showing little muscle definition and he wore an open-in- the-front robe that allowed the sign of a pentagram to show through.
"Any why is that?"
He stepped up to her and raked her naked form with his gaze, something that made her skin crawl even more so than the lewd smile he gave her, "Well, you see, my superior wants to make sure that you never get home, in which it will allow the side of darkness to get a free agent that is very powerful."
"What is your name, good sir?"
"Ethan Rayne." He let out a chuckle and stooped down, running his hand from her naval to her neckline and back down, caressing both breasts as he did, "I must say, you are quite fetching, young woman. I shall have fun making you scream."
She bared her teeth and then spit in his eyes, "I will never give you the satisfaction." It was then that she stopped and began to smile, "And I fear that you will never get that chance either, Mr. Rayne."
"And why is that?"
She smiled, "Because of the fact that my battle companion will be here to save me."
"The boy?" Rayne let his head fall back and laughed heartily, "Child, I know whom you call your battle companion and believe me when I tell you that he is harmless."
It was at that point that a scream was heard echoing off of the stones that lead up to the room she was in, a scream that was filled with pain and agony, but it was also not human, "Would you care to place a wager on that?"
{Xander's position}
The demon died with a scream of pure agony, but seeing as he had just split it down the middle from what amounted from collarbone to crotch, it wasn't exactly unexpected. He picked up the scroll it dropped and stashed it inside of his jacket before setting off again, not saying a word, weapons out and eyes constantly searching – the three demons types that he had run into up to that point, Undead, Demon and Monster, had not shown much in the way of true intelligence, but the one that he had juts dispatched had shown tactical thinking, reasoning and speaking capabilities, which did not bode well for him at all.
"Really, now, young man," the dark voice that had taunted him on the proceeding level with Sasha's disappearance came back in full force, "was it necessary for you to torture that poor demon?"
"If you think that was torture," Robert DiNiro's voice said from the balaclava, "then you need to think about what I'm going to do to you if I find so much as a HAIR out of place on Sasha's body. And trust me, when I get to you, I won't be in a good mood."
The voice laughed harshly, "And what makes you think that I am going to be here when you find us?"
"Because if you could leave, then you would have been gone by now, not to mention you would be deeper into the catacombs than you are right now." He continued walking forwards, spinning and decapitating another demon before taking a page out of Wes Craven's and Drusilla's book, "One, two, Kitten's coming for you. Three, four, better lock your doors."
"If you think that is going to scare me, boy, then you have been watching far too many movies."
"What makes you think you'll ever see me, Mr. Voice? Five, six, you cross the river Styx. Seven, eight, make you gonna stay up late." (AN: I can't remember the 5-6, or the 7-8 rhymes, but it I think it works with this) With that done, he activates his invisibility spell that he had picked up from the dark book and picked up the pace as well.
{Sasha's location}
"FIND HIM!" The shout was closer now even as the few remaining demons on the level, but there was a note of fear in it now and Sasha could only smile, even though her backside was getting cold due to the stone and her body was showing it too.
"Is there something wrong, Ethan?" She asked the question sweetly, knowing that she was stirring the pot, but also knowing that Ethan would not touch a hair on her body due to his new fear of Xander.
"No, my dear, everything is fine." He was sweating and his eyes were darting form one side of the room to the other, as if he had gotten ahold of too much sugar.
"No, it is not because you are scared." She chuckled, "And I would also be very scared if I were in your position, Ethan Rayne."
He stiffened and stalked over to her, "Is that so?" He drew back a foot and launched a kick into her unprotected ribs, catching her full-on and making her scream out in pain, "Now, who is it that should be scared?"
"You." The voice was not that of her friend, yet it was – it was that balaclava that he had that made him sound like 'Robert DiNiro', whoever that was, and it was also very close.
Even through the pain she could see Ethan whip his head back and forth, "Where are you?"
"Closer than you might think, Ethan." The voice held a chilled tone to it as it sounded even closer, "You know, for all of the hell you caused us that night, I am more than tempted to drag your ass out and let Ripper has his way with you ... but where would the fun in that be?" There was a sound that made her skin crawl, the sound was that of a steely rasp that was made from a sword or a bladed weapon being pulled from a sheath, and a dark chuckle, "Tell me, Rayne, do you like to be scared? Nine, ten, gonna do it again. One, two Kitten's coming for you. Three, four, better lock your door. Five, six, you cross the river Styx. Seven, eight, gonna make you stay up late. Nine, ten ... I'm gonna cut your skin."
The nature of the singing had been a childish tone, but as it seemed to come from everywhere at once and with the last words became dark and malevolent, Sasha felt herself shiver in fear, an action that aggravated her ribs, as Ethan Rayne slowly went mad with fear.
"YOU DON'T SCARE ME, BOY!"
"Then give your soul to the Lord, son, 'cause you ass now belongs to me." Gone was the voice of Robert DiNiro, rather now it was from Xander, from one place, and he was visible ... and didn't look happy. "You kicked a shackled ... naked ... woman, Rayne. I'll have to make it hurt before you die." His bladed weapons snapped back and locked into place as he began to walk forwards, "Are you okay, Sash?"
"I could do with a comforter – it is rather chilly in here."
He shrugged out of his jacket and draped it over her nakedness as he passed, stalking Rayne, who was backing up from the sounds of things, "I know it's not much, but here you go." He looked her in the eyes only and smiled, "Oh, and your legs look just fine."
She blushed.
{Xander's POV}
Ethan Rayne had caused so much trouble in his life up to that point that he no longer cared if the son of a bitch died quickly or slowly – as long as he died. He was skinnier and paler than last time, looking less like a Brit than ever, especially with the pentagram tattoo on his chest, but aside from that, he had not changed. "Tell me, Ethan, what have you been doing lately?"
Ethan snarled an oath and flung a poorly aimed fireball in his general direction, one that he dodged easily even as heard the manacles on Sasha's wrists and ankles unlock, but then drew himself up again, "Planning my domination of this realm, child. It's a step up from what I normally do, but even chaos can become boring after a while."
He nimbly danced around a hail of hailstones that was sent in his direction, but then snapped back, "Oh, did Janus decide to abandon you after your botched attempt at Chaos? Or can you think of nothing more original than this?"
"You want original, boy?" Ethan brought both of his hands up and summoned forth a virtual flurry of shards of ice, each of them in the shape of Twinkies, and sent them in his direction, "How was that for original."
"You defiled the shape of the Twinkie." It was meant to be funny, in a way, but seeing as the attack got a little too close for comfort, he activated his invisibility spell again and ducked back into the darkness.
Ethan looked around wildly, looking very insecure in his current situation, but never laid an eye on him once, "So, you like invisibility magic? What if I took that away from you?"
Ethan never got the chance to do anything about it as Xander found himself within striking distance and introduced Ethan's jaw to a right hook that held with it a jaw-shattering force, which is exactly what happened to the former Chaos Mage, who was then sprawled to the ground several feet away. "Can you cast a spell without being able to move your jaw?"
"Was that truly necessary, Xander?" Sasha had pulled on his duster and held the remains of her armor, which had been reduced to silken rags, but from a glance he could see she had already wrapped a few pieces around herself.
"Maybe not, but I feel better. You okay?"
"My ribs will heal." She walked forwards, looking around as she did, "Have you seen your Kevlar vest?"
"Not yet." He walked over to Ethan's groaning form and kicked him in the ribs as way of retribution, "Now, Ethan, let's a have a little chat, shall we?"
Sasha looked over at him, "You DO know you broke his jaw, right?"
"Yes, but I can heal it if I have to ... and only that." He worked his mojo as Sasha began to look around, finding this and that from her arsenal and armor, as Ethan began to heal and come around, "'Ello, ol' chap. I fink you haf a bit offa problom, here, mate."
"Bloody American Teenagers." Ethan groaned in disgust even as he tried to sit back up, an attempt that was thwarted by Xander reaching down and getting a handful of his hair before slamming his head back into the stone floor.
"I'd be really careful about what you say, Ethan – this is going to hurt either way, but how much it hurts depends on your answers."
"I'll tell you nothing."
Xander could only grin.
{Two Hours Later}
Sasha looked down at her new clothing and marveled at the feel of the denim against her legs, the cotton against her skin and the cushy feeling of the socks on her feet; while the socks and t-shirt were not new to her, she had not had the chance to wear blue jeans in her year in Xander's dimension, as her own armor and some slacks were quite appropriate for most functions, but this was something else. "Where did you get these?"
Xander shrugged, "I told you you'd be surprised what I had stashed away in that minor dimensional pocket of mine, Sasha. I figured that we might run into something that required us to change clothes, so I guessed your size." He shrugged on his jacket again and moved it into place, "You ready?"
She nodded, shifting the Kevlar armor into a more comfortable position before looking at the remains of the remains of Ethan Rayne, "I hope he gets what he deserves."
"We all will." He reached into his pocket and removed something, "Now, there's a room back this way that's very defensible and we can rest there for the night before we go any further."
She nodded and hefted her staff, waling with him as he looked around; she found herself studying his profile as they walked and could not figure out what it was about him that she found ... intriguing. He was of slightly above average height for his world, had a compact, but still muscular build, with dark eyes and hair that seemed to see everything and not be tamed, respectively, but there was something else that was there that she could not put her finger on, and that perplexed her. She was generally good at reading people like unrolled scrolls, but with the way that Xander had 'questioned' Ethan Rayne, her own opinions and assumptions of him had proven incorrect on several accounts and skewed on several more, all of which meant that he required further study.
They reached the room that he had told her about and she was delighted by the first and second things she saw – a bed and a fireplace. She knew they would sleep in shifts, and not rest, as they both needed to truly sleep, but was curious how he would get her to take the first sleeping shift, "So, who sleeps first?"
"We'll flip a coin, but before that, let's eat." He reached into the deep pockets of the duster, apparently they also were magically expanded storage areas, and he then pulled out several green plastic bags, both of them rather large, and several bottled waters. He went to the fireplace, which was actually nothing more than a niche in the wall, and started a small cooking fire with the wood that was stacked there and smiled as the smoke was pulled into stone air ducts, "Madame, voila, dinner is served." He opened one of the bags and studied the writing on it, "For dinner tonight we have a selection of chicken tetrazini, vegetables, bread and desert or we have spaghetti with tomato sauce and meat, vegetables, bread and a desert."
She pursed her lips and tapped her forefinger to her lips, as if thinking, "I believe that I shall have the spaghetti, good sir."
"Very well." He slit the bag open and poured one of the bottles of water into it before setting it aside, doing the same with the other, "They'll take a few minutes to rehydrate, and then we'll have to warm them, but either way it's going to taste like crap." (AN: Anyone who has eaten old- school MREs knows that many of the selections were either bland or tasted like cardboard – new ones, however, are supposed to be rather good.)
She nodded and removed her armor, as he took off his duster, and sat next to him with a slight sigh, "This has been an interesting day, has it not?"
"How so?"
"I get knocked unconscious, stripped and chained while so, leered at and kicked by an old enemy of yours and watch you torture information out of him over two hours before killing him with one of his own minions. Not only that, I found out you have a sadistic streak and also like to play with your enemies heads, too." She leaned back and groaned as her back muscles tightened, "Oh, and let's not forget that you also got to see me naked as well."
"The highlight of my day, I assure you." He shifted behind her and began to massage out several large knots in her back, which got a slight moan of approval from her without too much prompting, "Seriously, Sasha, how are you?"
"I'll feel better after a few hours of sleep. We've been down here for almost two days now and we need it."
"Yes, and the good news is that the bottom of this place is only two more levels below us." She groaned again as he began to work more knots out of her shoulders and middle back before going to her lower back, "So, what are you going to do when you get back home, Sash?"
"I don't know." She shook herself off as he finished her off and went to stir the bags of food, "What are those?"
"MREs, Meals Ready To Eat – dehydrated and preserved for soldiers in the field. No promises on the taste, but they keep you fueled for combat." He poured the contents of one of the bags into a metal pan and set it near the edge of the fire, doing the same with the other, "So, Sash, any Mr. Sasha back at home? How about little Sasha's?"
She blushed lightly, "No, I have not found time to settle down and have a family – I have my mother and father to look after, as well as my younger siblings. My older sister runs a tavern in Lut Ghulane, but also lost her husband recently as the Dark Wanderer came through." She had told him of Diablo, The Lord Of Terror, during the last time they had stopped, but not of her own family, "Yourself?"
"Mom and dad, but I could care less about either of them, and no Mrs. Harris on the horizon, but again, that's not too weird." He stirred some of the red and pale stringy contents with a fork and looked into the fire, "I guess I'm not sure what I'm going to do – graduate, get a job, hopefully go to college, but I just ... I don't know."
"And what of Jenny? Surely she holds some place in your heart."
He looked at her oddly, "Jenny and I are friends – she doesn't judge me for what I do and I, well, I like that. She's smart, funny, and I won't kid myself, beautiful, but trust me, she can do better than me." He stirred the other plate and then rummaged in the two bags and set smaller tins near the edge of the fire, "So, what about your? Anyone special in your neck of the woods?"
She blushed a little more, "No, as I said, I have been busy. I would like the opportunity, though – there are certain things about having someone to lean on in life, or against in the middle of the night, that I find ... oddly reassuring."
"If nothing else, they are effective warming devices." He pulled the two tins away and popped them open, stirring the contents inside, "Milady, for your dining pleasure tonight, we have spaghetti with meat and tomato sauce, accompanied by what appears to be boiled carrots, some shelf-stable bread and a treat for later." He passed her the 'food' and took his own things, before looking over at her, "If that which does not kill us makes us stronger, than this should give us a pretty good boost."
She chuckled and dug into the meal, which, while not exactly flavorful, was filling. The vegetables, which did turn out to be carrots, turned out to be sweetened a little and that helped to balance out the bland flavor of the entrée and the bread, which she suspected was 90% old packing material. She could see Xander eating his food without much gusto, but his face gave nothing away as he ate – his eyes, though, gave away plenty in the form of a slightly tired look, one that could be ascribed to old war veterans, like those who had actually survived the downfall of Tristram. She knew he had emotional baggage, but she wanted to drop her food and hug him to pieces, or until that look went away, at the mere sight of it.
They finished their food about the same time and he pulled out two other packages out of the green bags, which he presented to her, "Crackers and peanut butter, but also, as you have been such a good sorceress today ..." he reached into his duster and removed a clear-packaged item. "Twinkies."
She smiled and dove for them.
{Thirty minutes later}
Sasha lay next to him near the fire, her head on his shoulder, nearly asleep, when her eyes snapped back open and she blushed lightly. He wasn't sure what the problem was, but she said she was sorry and moved to the bed, "Do you mind taking first shift?"
"Nah, get some rack time." He threw his duster over her and she was asleep instantly, which allowed him to sit back down near the fire and think about what had been said earlier. While he wasn't sure what he wanted, he knew that it was probably going to include Sunnydale – he would not leave the fight voluntarily and would always protect those who could not protect themselves.
Sasha's comments about Jenny came to the forefront for some odd reason and he thought about the dark-haired gypsy woman who had become his best friend / confidant over the past few months. When Angelus had paralyzed her and Buffy had done nothing about it, he had gone after the vampire, succeeding in taking out not only a good chunk of his minions, but also dusting his Childe and Grandchilde, Dru and Spike. Not long after that, the Master Vampire, The Scourge of Europe, had left town and had yet to be heard from again, but regardless, Jenny was still paralyzed and needed help, so he provided it. At first she had been bitter about the entire thing, but after a little time she began to lose some of that bitterness towards life itself (but not Buffy) and accepted his help for what it was meant to be. He'd set her up in a nice ground-level apartment and informed her family of what had happened, but also stuck around to help her as she had been subject to night terrors and frequently didn't sleep very well.
He shook his head and added another piece of wood to the small fire, peering deep into the flame as he did, and allowed his mind to wander again – Ethan Rayne had told them of some of the demons below and Xander knew that killing them was going to be tougher than ever because they could dispel magic and had tougher hides than anything else they had come across before now. While he wasn't worried so much about Sasha, as she had a rather large repertoire of spells at her disposal, he was worried about his own hide for once and as such, reached into the back of Sasha's borrowed armor for several other things that he had brought along for a scenario like this, things that he had picked up along the way in and around the Hellmouth. Each item would vastly improve his physical self, raise his resistances to elemental/physical/magical harm, and also improve his knowledge of spells, but as all things concerning the Hellmouth, nothing came for free – for as long as he wore them when they were activated, that time was also needed to go through a kind of withdrawal, where his own body would turn against him and make him sick, and it would also take a toll on his mind by weakening the barrier that held the Hyena in check even more than it already was. It was a risk, however, that he had to take.
There were five pieces in all, each of them either a band of metal or a series of metal pieces sewn into a leather backing, and as he had used on before, they weren't the most comfortable thing to wear on the planet, but it could also have been worse. He removed his boots and fit the two anklets into place, seeing their dull bronze sheen shining in the firelight, and then replaced his boots and stood so he could put on the leather and metal belt and then strapped the metal bands around his wrists, under where his weapon mounts were. It was only a little more weight to wear, but he could feel the energy within them wanting to be let out and he had to stop himself from tapping those reserves.
"No, only as a last resort."
{Four Hours Later}
She opened her eyes to see Alexander's face in front of hers, smiling but tired, and for a split second she hated him – nobody deserved to look that chipper after being through what they had been through, "I hate you."
He looked at her slightly affronted, "Then no Twinkie for you." He started to scoot away, but her hand lashed out and caught his wrist, which she now noticed was clad in a bronze band.
"Give. Twinkies. NOW!" She held out her hand and he dutifully passed over two of the golden snack cakes, which she devoured in record time, "Mmmmm."
"Pig." She glared at him and shot him the finger, which made him chuckle, "Is that an offer, Sasha?" She thought about what the gesture meant and blushed as she remembered, "Can I have the bed now? I'm kind of tired."
She got out of bed and stretched, groaning as she did, but growled as he took her spot, sighed and fell asleep. She needed a few more hours of down time, but with the time constrains they had, four hours a shift were all they were going to get.
Pulling on the borrowed boots and sitting in front of her borrowed armor, Sasha began to reflect again over herself and her own life; yes, her family was important to her, but actually it wasn't that she didn't have time to find a husband, bur rather she wasn't exactly a people person, even less as her Class generally was. Sure, there were several males who had caught her eyes, and there was that one dubious Amazon a while back, but deciding not to irritate her family more than she already did, Sasha would stick to what she knew – with her luck she would either find and marry either a war- monger of a Barbarian or a stick-in-the-mud Paladin, and while she didn't even want to think about the Necromancers, the Druids liked to have their summoned beasts, spirits and plants in the house as well, and she didn't like Ravens all that much.
She looked over at Xander and a smile found her lips – if there were any just in the world, his or hers, she would find someone like him, only a few years older and with less emotional baggage. After all, she wasn't sure how well it would be received if she showed up with Xander slung over her shoulder and her saying, 'He followed me home, mother. Can I keep him?'
This brought a snicker from her as the mental picture formed in her mind – her, standing in front of her parents, with Xander slung over her shoulder, out cold, and her with an innocent expression on her face while the lump on his head matched the nodules on her staff. A nice image, yes, but one that could never be real, and that made her smile disappear.
It was a long four hours later that he woke up with a slight start as she tapped her fingers on his chin, his eyes snapping open and fist clenching, but then his eyes showed recognition of who she was and he lay back with a groan, "Evil woman."
She looked at him somewhat primly, "No Twinkie for you, then."
"EVIL I SAY!"
Alright, the introspective part is over, as is this chapter. Next chapter, more Slaying and we'll get an answer to just why who Ethan's boss is, and, more importantly we'll be another chapter closer to the end. R&R, AR.